Major in Criminal Justice

You Belong Here

You’re fascinated by the laws that govern our country. You’re frustrated by even the slightest form of injustice in the world around you. You want a career that helps keep people safe—and serves society at large. Criminal justice may be the major for you.

Never Stand Still

The Spirit of Utica College

Never stand still.

This institutional “signature” emerged from a thoroughgoing review of UC’s people, its history, and its practices. It is the product of an incisive self-examination encompassing scores of focus groups and interviews with students, alumni, faculty, staff, trustees, and other stakeholders in the future of the College – a process of discovery that identified the individual strands of our culture and drew them together. But what makes this simple phrase resonate is the underlying philosophy it embodies – the idea that we as a College community fully embrace the future, always seeking to explore it, understand it, and lean into it.

Never stand still concisely expresses our highest hopes and expectations for our graduates and ourselves. It says something about what we value. It also speaks to our entrepreneurial energy – that flame of innovation that illuminates the College’s path forward, allowing it to shine brightly in an era when higher education is increasingly criticized as being too deeply rooted in the past and unable to serve the future.

“UC has always been a center of innovation,” says President Laura Casamento. “In fact, our very founding was a major step forward for the City of Utica, which at that time, uniquely among upstate New York cities, had no four-year college.”

“We have always been an agile and entrepreneurial institution, rooted in a rich tradition of higher learning, but with a firm eye on the future. As social and technological innovations have transformed the global economy, we have sought to provide our students with the tools they need to stay on its leading edge. We will continue to do so, all the while remaining true to our core values,” Casamento says.

Student Research Day

Annual Showcase for Student Achievements

Why UC?

Utica College's celebrated major in criminal justice is an that combines a solid foundation in core academics with a practical learning approach emphasizing research, technology, and real-world professional experiences. The program has earned a national reputation for its innovative curriculum, exceptional facilities, and highly accomplished faculty.

What You’ll Learn

Criminal justice is the study of crime, its causes, and its effects on society. It is concerned with preventing and deterring criminal behavior, rehabilitating the offender, and providing a system where justice and rights are served. The criminal justice program’s theory-into-practice model promotes professional and international learning experiences as well as active participation in departmental research, culminating in a semester-long capstone internship.

Students enjoy a rich selection of internship opportunities as well as access to state-of-the-art forensic research technologies in the Economic Crime, Justice Studies, and Cybersecurity building on the UC campus.

A Degree that Works

Graduates of the program have opportunities in a variety of criminal justice fields including policing, law, probation, juvenile services, private security, public administration/planning, counseling, research, and regulatory enforcement. Graduates may also pursue advanced study in fields such as public administration, criminal justice and criminology, management, and law. UC criminal justice alumni have taken leadership positions at:

U.S. Secret Service

Fluor Corporation

N.Y. State Office of the Attorney General

U.S. Department of Treasury

BlackstoneHunt Investigative Agency, LLC, Sarasota, Florida

Veteran's Administration

Program offers both professional and international learning experiences.